Monica Schroeder

“Won’t be Home for Christmas”… (newly released track)

Monica — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 03:19:30 +0000

I was approached to write a Christmas song for a film and I came up with something that kind of stayed close to the themes that I like to sing about and I wrote a song called “Won’t be Home for Christmas”. I had no idea of what could possibly be said about Christmas that hadn’t already been said, so I thought about my niece and what I would say to her, knowing that I wouldn’t be making it back home for Christmas this year. When the song was submitted for the movie, I was asked if it was possible to flip the tone of the song to indicate a more positive outcome – “and can you make it more sparkly?”
Soooo….. I re-recorded the song with different lyrics and a little ‘sparkle’.

In the end, they didn’t use either track - so now I have two songs.
‘Home for Christmas’ – ‘Won’t be Home for Christmas’ … and you get to decide. You can go straight to itunes or you can hear them both on my CD Baby page and on my myspace site.

New Review and the WCMA’s

Monica — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 15:07:56 +0000

This weekend I attended the Western Canadian Music Awards in Moose Jaw, SK. I had a blast and enjoyed meeting some of the other performers nominated in the Pop category including Sheena Grobb and J.P. Hoe - we met at the party afterward and discussed plans for a pop extravaganza tour. Now, in the excitement of the evening, it’s possible that we didn’t actually talk about this and the extravaganza tour is just all in my head, but it’s a lovely thought.

Congratulations to Joel Kroeker for winning in this category - I’ve known Joel for years and I’m a big fan of his songwriting, so I want to wish him the best! I was hoping to be able to accept the award on his behalf, but he found someone else to do the honours…

I’d say my favourite performances of the weekend were Doc Walker performing with Jason Plumb and also Barney Bentall singing with his son Dustin and J.P. Hoe (who is not Barney’s son, as far as I’m aware).

To add a little dollop of cream to the weekend, Calvin Daniels at Yorkton this Week published a review of my CD. Calvin says “I can tell you Schroeder continues to mature as a singer, with a voice which is simply enjoyable to listen too. She might sing a grocery list and you would enjoy listening.“.
What a nice thing to say - I’m going to start adding that as a service on my website. For Calvin’s full review, please see my discography page.

Western Canadian Music Awards Nomination!

Monica — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 16:24:23 +0000

It was just announced that ‘So Far’ was nominated for “Outstanding Pop Recording” at the upcoming Western Canadian Music Awards! The awards are taking place in Saskatchewan on October 21, 2007 - to see the complete list of nominees, have a look at the WCMA website.

New Song Placement…

Monica — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 23:58:48 +0000

“Tonight” & “Peace” will be used in the Indie film ‘Dark Rising’. It’s a scary film, but these songs will make it all alright…

Songwriter’s Showcase on July 25th

Monica — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 13:25:50 +0000

I’m happy to be playing a Songwriter’s Showcase with Jaylene Johnson on July 25th at Central Bar in Toronto, set-up by Casablanca Media Publishing.

Jaylene and I have been doing some co-writing together and we’re pretty excited with the results. I’ve also been writing some electronic/dance songs with Jarkko Tuohimaa (Finland) & Benny Maze (USA). I’ve written lyrics and recorded the vocals for songs with both of these writers. The tracks will appear on their next albums, but you can look for these songs to also appear on my website in the near future…

Check out some photos and music from the CD release …

Monica — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 22:09:16 +0000

Here are some photos and recordings from the So Far CD release party (June 7th 2007 at Central Bar in Toronto). if you took pictures at the CD release, we’d love to see them - please send us a note!

Audio

Set one (with band)

[See post to listen to audio]

Set two (acoustic)

[See post to listen to audio]

Photos

So Far reviewed in Now Magazine

Monica — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 21:58:34 +0000

Check out the latest review of So Far from the current Now Magazine.

Monica Schroeder’s dreamy sounds have inspired a few people along the way, but she should be playing packed houses across the country. Her latest, an airy, atmospheric record that sounds like Sarah McLachlan jamming with David Gray, might finally make her a household name.

So Far CD release tonight!

Monica — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 15:03:41 +0000

If you’re in Toronto, come out to my CD release show tonight for my latest album So Far. It all happens at the Central Bar, 603 Markham Street. $8 at the door, starting at 8pm, first set (with band) from 8:30 - 9:30pm, second set (acoustic) from 10:00 - 10:30pm, and DJ Spiritually Minded from 10:30pm onward.

Also, I hope you enjoy my new website to coincide with the album release!

A Different Drum festival, Salt Lake City

Monica — Fri, 01 Sep 2006 20:14:46 +0000

This was so much fun — Great atmosphere and the fans were unbelievable!! This is the 3rd year that Todd has put on the festival and I was so happy to be involved and that I got the chance to play. The new CD “So Far” was ready for the weekend and Todd brought it along and I played a set with all my new songs. Most of the other acts at the festival were more ‘synth-poppy’ than I was, so it was an interesting contrast and I spent most of the rest of the weekend dancing and being exposed to new music – I loved it!. Thank you to Marcus of ‘Rename’ for helping out with my set – I appreciate that! If you’d like to check out some of the other bands who played at the festival…

Null Device — See Their Homepage
The Dignity of Labour — See Their Homepage
Rename — See Their Homepage
Rhythmic Symphony — See Their Homepage
20Goto10 — See Their Homepage
Eloquent — See Their Homepage
Joy Electric — See Their Homepage
Voice Industrie — See Their Homepage
Moulin Noir — See Their Homepage
Faith Assembly — See Their Homepage
Provision — See Their Homepage

Move Me CD release party

Monica — Thu, 11 May 2006 20:18:32 +0000

We had a CD release party at the Rivoli for “Move Me” and it was a blast! Thank you to everyone who came out and supported the night – I appreciate that so much!! The band was also incredible – I had Tim Bovacanti on Guitar, Mike Costantino on Bass and Blake Manning on Drums and they did a fantastic job!

Thank you to Ben Sures for opening the show and all for of your support! And thank you to Jeremy and Adam of the Toronto Groove Collective for DJing and bring some cool sounds to the night. Thanks also to Christopher at the Rivoli for having us!